Comments Off on Floridians rescue Manatees stranded on shores drained by Irma

Of all the destructive impacts of a hurricane , with its life-threatening storm surges and massive flooding, the sudden lack of aquatic habitat is not a typical concern. However, bays and canals drained by Hurricane Irma’s intense storm system were exactly the threats facing Florida’s aquatic wildlife over the weekend, including manatees. Michael Sechler of Sarasota, Florida , saw these stranded creatures beached where formerly there was water and took action to save them. Law enforcement and other locals also arrived to offer a helping hand and, together, the Floridians carried the manatees, which can easily weigh over 600 pounds, back into the sea. The manatees beached in Sarasota and other parts of Florida along Irma’s path suffered from an unusual phenomenon in which water was pulled away from typically submerged shores while areas above sea level suffered flooding. As the storm approached places like Tampa, strong winds pushed water out of shallow bays and canals and into a storm surge elsewhere. “As soon as the wind shifts direction, the water will come back quickly and continue to move inland,” said CNN meteorologist Judson Jones. Although the wind temporarily removed water from the area, it returned with strength. “After the storm center passes Tampa, the wind will change from offshore to onshore and push water and large ocean surface waves onshore,” said Shuyi Chen, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Related: Snooty, the world’s oldest living manatee in captivity, dies at age 69 While the water was low, Sechler and his friends traveled out to where the manatees were trapped. “My friends and I couldn’t move these massive animals ourselves, and we called every service we could think of, but no one answered,” said Sechler. “We gave them as much water as we could, hoping the rain and storm surge [would] come soon enough to save them.” Eventually, fellow citizens and law enforcement officers arrived to assist in the rescue operation. The animals were rolled up in a tarp, then carried the 100 yards to the open ocean. Now that Irma has passed through Sarasota, the manatees and their rescuers can expect more peaceful seas. Via The Telegraph and CNN Images via cyberartist/Flickr , Marcelo Clavijo/Facebook and Tony Foradini-Campos/Facebook

Comments Off on China announces plan to ban sales of fossil fuel cars and shift focus to EVs

China has announced a plan to ban the sales of fossil fuel -burning vehicles. They don’t have a date set yet – vice minister of industry and information technology Xin Guobin said regulators and the government are working on a timetable. A ban would be a boon for China’s electric car industry, and could have a huge impact on the country’s notoriously awful air quality . Xin spoke about China’s plan to stop sales and production of the polluting vehicles at an automobile forum over the weekend in Tianjin. He said such a step would impact both the environment , and the growth of the country’s electric car industry. Bloomberg noted China would be the largest market to end sales of fossil fuel-powered cars should they go through with the plan. Related: Scotland to phase out new gas and diesel cars by 2032 Liu Zhijia, assistant general manager at China’s largest passenger car exporter Chery Automobile Company, said, “The implementation of the ban for such a big market like China can be later than 2040. That will leave plenty of time for everyone to prepare.” Chery recently unveiled battery-powered and hybrid vehicle models at a Frankfurt motor show. China has the second largest economy in the world, and have said they’ll cap carbon emissions by 2030. Their impending fossil fuel vehicle sales ban could encourage automakers to focus on emissions-free electric cars instead. Large car maker GAC Motor broke ground on a $6.5 billion electric vehicle park earlier this year. BYD , China’s biggest electric vehicle manufacturer, counts actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio as brand ambassador , and have already delivered 46,855 plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles this year. They’re also backed by Warren Buffett. Bloomberg noted government subsidies have helped local car manufacturers find success in the electric vehicle market, even as United States companies like Tesla , Nissan, and General Motors are hustling to claim a piece of the market. Via The Verge and Bloomberg Lead image via Depositphotos , others via Redd Angelo on Unsplash and Vivian Chen on Unsplash

Police officers are sworn to serve and protect the members of their community. For some cops, this extends even to the non-human residents under their watch. As he was patrolling the Lido Beach Resort in South Florida on Saturday August, 3 around 1 am, Officer Derek Conley spotted a group of baby sea turtles clustered around the hotel’s front door. A passerby told him that there were more of the obviously confused hatchlings in the parking lot. After calling the area’s two marine rescue groups, Conley—along with several guests—collected almost 900 babies into a box, and led them to the ocean. He even stopped traffic on several occasions to chauffeur his shelled charges into their rightful home in the nearby Gulf of Mexico . Read the rest of Police Officer Saves Nearly 100 Baby Sea Turtles in Florida Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: baby sea turtle , conservation , endangered species , florida , gulf of mexico , hatchling , lido beach resort hotel , officer derek conley , parking lot , police officer , sarasota , sea turtle conservancy